19. Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg

This was an amazing book. Part murder mystery, part political intrigue, and so much more; I think this would be a particularly hard book to categorize. I also think this will proudly sit on my top 5 list of books read this year.

At first, it was hard to get into the rhythm of the writing, but once I got used it and let it carry me along, I was completely swept into Smilla's life and was able to see things from her unique point of view. A very independent woman, strong and vulnerable at the same time, who has perhaps gotten in over her head but perseveres in her journey to discover the secret behind a friend's death.

Brilliantly written, haunting and detailed, once you have let yourself be absorbed into Peter Høeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow, the story will not let you go until the very end, and even then will stay with you for some time.